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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703247">devils hide behind redemption</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/briaroses/pseuds/briaroses'>briaroses</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Choi Soobin, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Whipped Choi Yeonjun, beomjun besties, devil!hyuka, devil!soobin, devil!taehyun, halloween-ish?, inspired by new era, it isn't, itzy &amp; ateez cameos, soob purple hair, soobin IS an angel but technically classified as a devil, the first chapter makes this seem like a beomjun fic, they are platonic soulmates tho, yeonjuns pink hair !!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:00:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/briaroses/pseuds/briaroses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Soobin is a devil, to Yeonjun he's an angel.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>80</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hope this isn't a hot mess. first chapters always suck.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The club was called <em>The Blue Hour. </em>Hours vary depending on the sunset and sunrise. Tonight the club was open from 8:00 p.m to 6:00 am respectively. The club was located in a brick building painted to a matte black and had an azure blue LED sign hanging on the front of it that spelled out the name. There was a line of people waiting near the side door, all wearing very nice and <em>expensive </em>looking clothing. It all made Yeonjun a bit self-conscious in his smiley face crop top and jeans even though Beomgyu had insisted he looked great. </p><p>Speaking of Beomgyu, Yeonjun could see his friend's side profile talking with one of the security guards while twirling a curled piece of hair with a finger. The black-haired boy was the definition of beauty and could flirt his way in or out of any situation even if he wasn't filthy rich, but Yeonjun could admit Beomgyu and his face could get a little annoying sometimes. Not because anyone with eyes that were good of sight would be interested in him, but because it was all Beomgyu talked about and boasted about and bragged about. Yes, those three things mean the same in this context but Yeonjun felt it necessary to describe just how much his friend enjoyed the knowledge of his level of attractiveness. However, at times in came in handy. Like, right about now. </p><p>Beomgyu waved Yeonjun over to the side door and gave him a smirk as a bouncer led the two men through the doorway out into the packed club. </p><p>The color scheme from outside blended into the inside as well. The matte black made an appearance on the tables, chairs, and floor while several different shades of blue were illuminated by lights and the several fog machines surrounding the club. </p><p>Several people were already out on the dance floor, lounging in chairs, or getting a drink from the bar. The club had just opened thirty minutes ago and yet it was already pretty full. Beomgyu had already told Yeonjun that this was currently a popular spot for the wealthy socialites and businessmen in Seoul, but as with most things it took Yeonjun seeing it for himself to actually believe him. Still entranced by the club's illusive atmosphere, he startled a bit when Beomgyu grabbed his hand and led him to a corner of the club that was less crowded. </p><p>He bumped into a few sweaty bodies on the dancefloor and muttered quiet apologies that were sure to have gone unheard as Beomgyu guided him through the mass of people. The few faces that Yeonjun saw as he made his way further into the building were all strangers covered in glitter and smelled like smoke but not the kind that one would recognize as cigarettes. The two men finally reached the area Beomgyu had sought out and quickly took a seat before someone else could. </p><p>There were two people sitting a few feet away from them on the same leather chairs but they seemed too involved in their conversation to notice Beomgyu and Yeonjun, or they just didn't care. </p><p>The DJ was blasting some EDM song loudly over the speakers so when Beomgyu turned to him to speak Yeonjun had to strain to listen to what his friend was saying. </p><p>He thought he made out the words 'drink' and 'bar' so he just nodded as Beomgyu smiled back at him and made his way back to the growing crowd. </p><p>Yeonjun was left alone and though he normally doesn't feel awkward in new places or situations, he felt out of place in a club that was much more high-scale than his beat up black Converse and unintentionally ripped jeans. It didn't help that it was pretty cold in the joint now that he was away from so many people. A shiver ran down his spine so he wrapped his arms around himself for a moment and when he looked up the couple that had been sitting across from him were nowhere to be found. </p><p>It wasn't that hard to guess where they could've gone. </p><p>Beomgyu was approaching him when looked back with two drinks in his hands and a big smile on his face. </p><p>It was actually quite a tale, the way the two of them became friends. Yeonjun remembers it being close to finals last year and he was high on coffee and low on sleep when he came stumbling out of the bus at midnight to get back to his apartment only realizing a few minutes too late that his stop was actually still four blocks away. After spewing out a few expletives, he headed to a small 24 hour restaurant to get some form of food in him before he made the walk back to his apartment. There were few people in the place when he walked in and after ordering a plate of fries and some water his fog-filled brain took a look around the small area. That's when he had spotted Beomgyu talking to another boy across from him who only looked a bit younger that Beomgyu himself. They seemed to be arguing, not intensely, but enough for even Yeonjun's muddled mind to notice. </p><p>If he is remembering correctly it seemed as if the boy with Beomgyu had looked mainly worried about the other than mad which looking back Yeonjun could sympathize with knowing now some of the antics Beomgyu got up to. At the time though, Yeonjun had simply looked away and tried his best to keep himself awake before his food arrived. </p><p>When he finished he quickly paid the bill and thanked his server before heading back out to make his dreaded trek back to his complex. When he stepped back out into the night, the streets were emptier than they had been before and a look at his almost dead phone told him it was nearing 2 a.m. He sighed, but began walking in the direction of his home when a hand grasped his shoulder with a strong grip. Yeonjun had shoved the stranger back and tore out of his hold before spinning around to face the person. It was the boy he had seen earlier, or Beomgyu, as the Yeonjun of the present had come to know him. </p><p>Back then he was nothing but a random guy he had briefly seen in a small-scale pub and was now making a reappearance that Yeonjun wasn't sure he welcomed. </p><p>"I really hope you aren't planning to walk wherever you're going, I hope it's home, by yourself." </p><p>Those were the first words Choi Beomgyu had ever spoken to him and Yeonjun was, well, taken aback. </p><p>"I'm sorry, what?" </p><p>"You shouldn't be walking home by yourself this late, especially around here." In Beomgyu's defense, he had looked genuinely concerned. However, Yeonjun had watched way too many crime dramas to fall for this whether or not it was as innocent as it seemed. </p><p>"You're probably right, but I also shouldn't be following some stranger's advice that I've never even met that just randomly showed up to tell me this." </p><p>"Good point." Beomgyu had shrugged. "But I still don't feel comfortable letting you walk around here by yourself." </p><p>"What are you, my mom?" </p><p>That had made Beomgyu laugh and admittedly he did have a nice laugh, but so did some serial killers. Maybe. Yeonjun had never looked that up before. Clearly, his late night snack had not unclouded his brain quite yet. </p><p>"Look, I'm asking to walk you home and make sure you get in safe because according to my friend 'I care about no one other than myself'." </p><p>Yeonjun stared at the man in front of him with an unamused look on his face. </p><p>"You do realize that asking to accompany me home to make sure I'm safe just to prove a point to your friend is in fact proving your friend's exact point, right?" </p><p>Beomgyu moved to answer. </p><p>"Dude, that was a rhetorical question! It should be obvious!" Yeonjun exclaimed, while Beomgyu pouted. </p><p>"Hey! Don't get mad at me! I've already had enough people get mad at me already tonight!" The boy exclaimed. </p><p>Yeonjun sighed, but while taking a look at the boy in front of him he noted how adorable he looked with the pout on his face and the cold making his cheeks red. He realized that he was probably older than him and glancing at his physique was probably stronger too. Not that that meant anything according to the horror movies he also watched religiously. </p><p>Suddenly, Yeonjun heard rustling across the street and according to the boy's face he had heard it too. The boy turned to Yeonjun quickly and looked a bit more anxious. </p><p>"Please, just let me walk you home so I can feel better about myself." </p><p>Yeonjun laughed, but as he looked at the dark streets and dimming light he realized that he didn't feel that comfortable walking by himself either.</p><p>"Alright, but only because I don't live that far and it will be a cold day in hell before I ever pay a fucking cab price."  </p><p>That made the boy laugh loud and he skipped over to Yeonjun's side as they began walking. </p><p>"I understand. I'm Choi Beomgyu." </p><p>"Hey, me too! I mean, I'm a Choi as well! Choi Yeonjun!" </p><p>"Nice to make your acquaintance Mr. Choi. I'm sure we will get along swimmingly." Beomgyu snickered. </p><p>They had. They ended up getting each other's numbers once Beomgyu dropped Yeonjun off and have stayed in contact and friends ever since. He never did find out what and who it was that Beomgyu had argued with that night, but at the beginning of their friendship it didn't feel his place to ask and by the time they were in a place to share that information Yeonjun had forgotten it had ever even happened. </p><p>Now here they were in a fancy ass club, drinking who knows what kind of alcohol combinations, and simply being for a brief moment in time where normally it seemed as if time would never stop. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Alright, so Yeonjun was pretty sure he was drunk and was pretty sure that he had lost Beomgyu.</p><p>It had seemed like just a minute ago the two of them were dancing together to some Rhianna song, but when Yeonjun turned back around after doing some type of ballerina twirl move Beomgyu was nowhere to be found. At first, Yeonjun had thought he had just gone to the bathroom and didn't think much of it. He continued dancing, the alcohol making his nervousness from before dissipate, but after twenty minutes or so he began to get worried. </p><p>There was even more people in the club now so it was pretty difficult to look for him through the throng of bodies surrounding Yeonjun. It didn't help that his level of awareness was pretty low right now given the three or four drinks he had had since the first earlier in the night. He tried anyway. </p><p>People didn't spare him a glance as he made his way through the crowd looking for his black-haired friend. If he is remembering correctly Beomgyu was wearing a teal turtleneck with a blue jean jacket which would be easier to spot in all the glitter and sparkles that others had on. </p><p>Somehow, he was able to make it through the sea of bodies and out onto the other side of the club. This side was noticeably different than the other. The left side was full of tables and chairs and open archways that led into the VIP area. This side, however, was pretty empty. There were a few doors that led to most likely the place where they stored all of the alcohol and to the staff room. He saw a sign that pointed to the bathroom and decided to follow it even though he was pretty sure that wasn't where Beomgyu was. He hadn't seen him anywhere in the crowd although he could've overlooked him, but the bathroom was the only other place he thought he could be. </p><p>The hallway to the bathroom was vacant and had nothing but walls painted the same matte black as everywhere else. Yeonjun was alone as he walked through, with the bathroom being at the end of the hall. As he got closer he could hear water running inside and furrowed his eyebrows. He entered the surprisingly small bathroom and saw someone had left the faucet to one of the sinks on. He turned it off, thinking the owners would not appreciate a higher water bill. Other than that the bathroom was empty, so no Beomgyu. Yeonjun sighed and headed out of the room straight into someone's arms. </p><p>Yeonjun yelped and leaped backwards almost falling on his ass if said person hadn't grabbed his arm and pulled him upright. </p><p>"Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you" A deep but soft voice told Yeonjun. </p><p>It was a boy. A boy with purple? No. Blue hair? Maybe a mix of both. </p><p>His skin was pale and his multicolor hair fell in front of his face. It wasn't long enough to cover his eyes, but it touched the tip of his eyelashes. </p><p>"Oh, no no, you're fine. No problem at all. None whatsoever." Yeonjun stammered. If he wasn't still tipsy he could've played this off cooly. But he was in fact still intoxicated and a pretty boy was only muddling his brain even further. </p><p>And then he <em>laughed </em>and had <em>dimples </em>and Yeonjun was <em>fucked.</em> </p><p>"Okay, I believe you." </p><p>An awkward silence descended upon the two men and the one with blueish hair sighed. </p><p>"Um, sorry, but do you mind moving?" </p><p><em>'Oh my god.' </em> Yeonjun thought and quickly stepped aside so the pretty boy could get through. </p><p>"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to!" </p><p>Pretty boy laughed again and Yeonjun heard stupid bells. </p><p>"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." Pretty boy said as he raised his hand in dismissal. It was then Yeonjun noticed something that he hadn't had the view of before. Pretty boy's jacket had ridden up against his arm and Yeonjun could see a long cut against his skin. That wasn't too worrisome by itself, but it was bleeding, badly. </p><p>Yeonjun's eyes widened and he reached out before Pretty boy could turn back around to grab his other, hopefully uninjured, arm. </p><p>The two stared at each other for a brief moment. One looking worried, the other looking disturbed. <em>His eyes are really pretty too, wow. </em>Yeonjun's brain noted. <em>No, not now! </em></p><p>"Uhh, y-your arm is bleeding. Like, a lot." Yeonjun eventually got out. </p><p>Pretty boy furrowed his brows before looking where Yeonjun mentioned and then yelped. </p><p>"Oh my god, what the hell!" The boy screeched. </p><p>His previously calm composure had shattered and now he was a nervous wreck. </p><p>Yeonjun needed to attempt to take control over the situation. </p><p>"Hey, hey! Calm down. It'll be fine, we just need to get something to wrap it." He exclaimed, trying to speak softly so he wouldn't freak out Pretty boy even more. The bathroom was only a few feet away and Yeonjun could probably halt the blood flow with some paper towels and toilet paper. He would have to leave this distressed stranger alone for a moment which was worrisome, but Yeonjun had to hope for the best. </p><p>"Um, I'm gonna get some stuff from the bathroom to wrap that. Don't worry it will only take a single minute, promise! Just, uh, try not to bleed more while I'm gone, kay?!" </p><p><em>So reassuring, </em>his mind taunted him as he ran inside the bathroom not daring to see the look Pretty boy was surely giving him.</p><p>He grabbed paper towels from the dispenser, almost dropping them too, and went over to the stalls. The first one was locked, so he tried the second. He grabbed several squares of toilet paper and ran back to the Pretty bleeding boy outside. </p><p>The boy looked calmer when he approached him, but got nervous again when Yeonjun began wrapping the wound. </p><p>"Um, my name's Yeonjun. I probably should've told you that before I did any of this." He huffed, while tying his makeshift wrap. </p><p> "No, it's fine. I probably wouldn't have listened anyways seeing as I apparently had an open wound that I didn't know about. How did you know how to do this?" Pretty boy said, looking more at peace now that blood wasn't flowing out of him. </p><p>"College." </p><p>"Are you a getting a medical degree?" </p><p>"No." </p><p>"Oh." </p><p>The two laughed together. </p><p>"My name's Soobin. Thank you for helping me, Yeonjun." </p><p>"No, you're good. You might want to get that checked later though. That wrap won't last forever, but I think it'll help stop the bleeding." </p><p>"Yeah, I will." Soobin, as Yeonjun now knew him as, smiled. </p><p>
  <em>God, the dimples. </em>
</p><p>"Well, I should probably get back to my friends. They are going to start wondering where I went off to." Soobin said. </p><p>Yeonjun nodded agreement, then paused. </p><p>
  <em>Oh shit, Beomgyu. </em>
</p><p>"Yeah, I was looking for my friend earlier. He said he was going to the bathroom, that's why I was in there, but I haven't been able to find him." Yeonjun sighed. </p><p>A strange look went across Soobin's face, before he blinked and his calm demeanor was back in it's place. </p><p>"Well, I hope you find him." </p><p>"Me too." </p><p>Another awkward silence emerged until Soobin waved goodbye and headed off in the direction towards the club. After Yeonjun was sure he had disappeared around the corner he slumped against the wall with a groan. He honestly didn't know if he should be embarrassed or satisfied with how that whole situation went. It's not like Yeonjun ran into gorgeous injured boys every day. </p><p>Wait, he was getting off track again. Beomgyu. Beomgyu was the current goal and wherever the hell he went. </p><p>***</p><p>The club was just as busy when Yeonjun returned as it had been when he had left. This did not bode well for his search of his friend. </p><p>"Gyu, where the hell did you go?" Yeonjun murmured to himself as he searched through the crowd. People bumped into him left and right like he wasn't even there and then shot him dirty looks when he didn't apologize. Yeonjun had to hold in his scoff. He had almost reached the other side of the club yet again and was thinking about heading to the bar to look even though he looked that way several times already when a hand gripped his shoulder tightly. </p><p>Yeonjun spun around ready to yank the stranger off of him when he saw a guilty looking Choi Beomgyu standing in front of him. </p><p>"Hey, you little brat, where the fuck have you been?" Yeonjun spit out. </p><p>Beomgyu was quiet for a moment before responding, resolutely keeping his head down. </p><p>"Sorry, hyung. I went to the bathroom and when I was coming back I saw some....people." Beomgyu sighed. </p><p>"People? That's not very descriptive, Gyu." Yeonjun huffed, annoyed. </p><p>"People I hadn't seen in a while. People I really wish I didn't see. But they saw me, and, well we didn't end on a good note and they had quite a few things to say that I guess they hadn't said before. They weren't good things. Anyway, I'm really tired now hyung and I know this night was supposed to be for you but I don't think I can stay here and I'm really sorry, Jun-hyung." </p><p>Yeonjun's heart sank as he realized Beomgyu was keeping his head down because he didn't want Yeonjun to see his tears. He swallowed harshly. He hated it when the people he cared about were hurting, he wished that he was hurt instead. But he wasn't. The only thing he could do right now is be a supportive friend for Beomgyu to lean on. Yeonjun didn't need to know the details unless the shorter boy wanted to share them. It didn't matter either way, Yeonjun would do the same. </p><p>He would still grab Beomgyu's hand tightly, wipe a few tears from his face, and guide him out of the club making sure no one bumped into them. If they did Yeonjun would give them the dirty look this time. He would make sure another person wouldn't hurt Beomgyu. At least not tonight. Not when Yeonjun was here to protect him. </p><p>The two made their way back out into the night where Yeonjun called a cab. He quickly gave the driver his address and nodded his thanks as he helped Beomgyu get settled. </p><p>The black-haired boy leaned on Yeonjun's shoulder as the car drove through the quieter Seoul streets. </p><p>Yeonjun felt his friend fall asleep and smiled. He watched the lights pass by and propped his head against the window. He looked at the time on the cab driver's clock. <em>1:05 am. </em>He briefly saw a police car drive by and flinched at the siren hoping it wouldn't awaken Beomgyu. </p><p>After a moment, it was clear Beomgyu was still asleep and Yeonjun moved slightly so that the other boy could be more comfortable. </p><p>The night didn't end the way he wanted, but Yeonjun doesn't really know what an ideal night would be anyway. However, he had his friend, he had fun for a time, and he even ran into a cute boy despite how awkward and maybe a bit traumatizing (for the boy) it was. </p><p>Wait, his name was Soobin. </p><p>Yes, Soobin with the blue-purple hair and cute dimples. </p><p>Those dimples would probably never leave his mind again, damn it. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so a few notes for this chapter now that we are diving into the devil stuff !!<br/>- demons and devils are different from each other in this au<br/>- hellscape is pretty much just the underworld where all the demons reside and the devils rule over<br/>- kai, soob, and taehyun aren't brothers they just view each other as such !<br/>- everything else you may be confused about will be explained in upcoming chapters!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The alley was dark where Soobin walked. Puddles of rain from the previous day still littered the ground and Soobin cringed when water splashed his pant leg. It was pretty quiet back here which was what Soobin wanted. Away from the loud noises inside the club. </p><p>As Soobin walked further into the alley he could hear a few muted sounds of conversation and rounded the corner. </p><p>He came to stop in front of two younger boys who were immersed in their discussion and didn't notice him for a moment. Soobin chuckled when they looked up and their eyes widened. </p><p>"Hyung!" The taller one, Kai, exclaimed and rushed over to his side, a somewhat nervous expression on his face. The shorter one, Taehyun, stood back from the two. </p><p>Soobin furrowed his eyebrows in concern. </p><p>"Hey, what's wrong you two? I dealt with the two annoyances a little while ago so they won't be a problem." He tried to comfort. </p><p>There had been a disturbance behind the club earlier that Soobin had the displeasure of dealing with and he subconsciously rubbed his arm. Sparkling eyes flashed through his mind and he quickly shook the image away. </p><p>Kai had grown quiet which was unusual for the normally energetic boy. It took Soobin a second, even in the dark where his vision is best, to see the red rimmed circles under his eyes. He felt a red hot ball of anger in his gut and quickly looked to Taehyun. Now that he knew what to look for he saw the clear indication of dried tear tracks on his face as well. </p><p>"Who? Who hurt you two?" He growled. </p><p>The two boys were silent for a moment until Kai spoke up. </p><p>"Hyung, we saw-" </p><p>"Nothing. Nothing happened." Taehyun interrupted, his voice cold and emotionless. Soobin's worry only grew. Taehyun wasn't as open about his feelings as Kai, but he wasn't closed off either, that was a category Soobin fell more into. So, to see his little brother ignoring what was clearly hurting him made Soobin's gut churn. </p><p>"Taehyun-" </p><p>"What happened to your arm, hyung?" He interrupted, yet again. Soobin was going to ignore him and prod a bit more, but Kai let out a squeak at his makeshift bandage and the attention was quickly thrown his way. </p><p>Soobin looked down at the bundle of toilet paper and paper towels and sighed. He quickly unwrapped the mess and threw it to the side on the ground. </p><p>"The girl got a scratch on me that was deeper that I thought so it started bleeding. Likely, the reaction to getting whatever poison was inside of her out of me. I ran into a human boy before I could notice and it appeared to him that I was bleeding a bit heavily for his liking so he did this for me. A bit useless, but I obviously couldn't tell him that." He laughed a bit remembering the panicked look on the boy's face. Soobin thought he did a decent job of acting shocked himself. The scratch was gone now, having healed itself. There was just a faint line where his injury was that would be gone by the morning. </p><p>"They must have very out of control to get a mark on you." Taehyun murmured. </p><p>Soobin nodded </p><p>"I was able to capture the guy and vanquished him back to hellscape, but the girl escaped me. I injured her though so she'll have to go back to hellscape in a matter of hours before her human form disappears." </p><p>"That's still a risk. She could still do harm in the limited hours she has left." Taehyun said while running a hand through his blond hair. Soobin bit his lip, an arrogant response on his tongue, before holding back. </p><p>"She's too hurt. The only person she would harm if she went after someone is just herself. I know you trust me, Taehyun. I wouldn't have come looking for you two if I thought something could pose danger to others and I could've stopped it." </p><p>An awkward silence encompassed the alley for a moment. </p><p>Taehyun sighed. </p><p>"You just never know what could happen, hyung." The boy said while walking passed the other two. He stopped and bent down to pick up Soobin's bandage he had tossed aside. "Also, don't litter hyung, it's bad for the environment." </p><p>Taehyun threw the dirty bundle in the trashcan a few feet away before heading back to the other side of the club. Kai shot Soobin a strained smile before following. </p><p>Soobin groaned and threw his head back. Taehyun had successfully diverted the point of conversation away from him and Kai and what had made them upset. Soobin cursed at himself for letting them get by so easily. </p><p>Still, he needed to figure it out. He didn't like his brothers hurting especially when he didn't know why. Then he couldn't fix it. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Yeonjun has long come to the conclusion that if whoever invented coffee didn't, he would be dead by now. The price of no sleep would have overtaken him and he would pass out in the middle of the road one day and get run over. So, he guesses he owes that man or woman his life now. Especially today. </p><p>The night before had drained of him of energy to get up for his 10 a.m class so here he was in the long coffee shop line trying not to tip over on the spot. Luckily, the line moved faster than normal and Yeonjun was able to order before that could happen. One black coffee later and Yeonjun felt less like he was gonna collapse. He still had twenty minutes before his class started and the building was a 7 minute walk so he scrolled on his phone a bit before he had to get going. </p><p>He sent off a text to Beomgyu who had stayed over asking him to lock his apartment when he left before grabbing his bag. The TV on the wall of the coffee shop was playing the news as he walked by and Yeonjun took a glance at it only to stop in his tracks. He spun around quickly and faced the TV again. The news was reporting about two individuals who had been attacked last night. The girl was able to call the police but lost sight of her boyfriend and now he was missing. </p><p>It's horrible to think, but this wasn't what shocked Yeonjun to silence. No, it was the fact that the place the incident occurred was the club Yeonjun was just at mere hours ago and the two pictures they were flashing on the screen was those of that couple that he and Beomgyu had been sitting across from. </p><p>Yeonjun felt as if he was about to collapse for a very different reason this time. </p><p>***</p><p>The day went by in a blur and Yeonjun barely remembered anything from his classes. His notebook empty of notes not taken. The walk home was filled with Yeonjun worrying over what transpired last night and how he and Beomgyu had nearly avoided it. He couldn't stop thinking about the couple and how he had seen them and now one of them was missing the other injured. How it had happened just a distance away from him and he was none the wiser. </p><p>His apartment was dark when he walked in, Beomgyu long gone now. The lights flickered on and Yeonjun heaved all of his work onto his table. He sat in silence for a while his mind whirring. Something was bothering him, other than the obvious. He scrunched his eyebrows and thought back to last night and what he might be forgetting. Quickly, the dots connected. </p><p>Soobin. </p><p>The boy with the dimples. He had come from the direction of the back exit where the girl had reported the attack. Yeonjun hadn't thought about it then, but how did Soobin get that gash on his arm and why did he not notice it beforehand. Surely he had to feel it happen. Unless he was distracted by something else-No, Yeonjun couldn't think that way. But what other explanation was there. Even though Soobin seemed far too delicate to hurt someone, Yeonjun isn't dumb enough to believe that what someone might portray to you is always the reality. In fact, if Yeonjun thinks hard enough he may even remember there being an annoyed look on Soobin's face when he collided with Yeonjun as if it was just another problem he had to deal with. </p><p>Yeonjun banged his head on the table while groaning. He didn't want to jump straight from thinking Soobin was a cute, kind stranger to dangerous criminal but here he was. He wished he had something more substantial so he wouldn't feel guilty about thinking something so negative, but also very plausible about a random person. As his cheek lay against the cool granite another thought came to mind. </p><p>Where was Beomgyu during all of this? </p><p>He knew what his friend had told him. That on his way back from the bathroom he ran into a few guys he had known once upon a time and that the fallout of their friendship had been a bad one. Beomgyu had told him that their exchange wasn't long, but long enough to do some damage to Beomgyu's heart. Yeonjun didn't know what was said, but he could tell it hurt Beomgyu and a part of Yeonjun hated his former friends but he knew barely anything at all about the situation and shouldn't put the blame on one side. His loyalty was to his friend, of course, but he couldn't write off the other two who for all Yeonjun knew were right in their feelings about Beomgyu. </p><p>Yeonjun thought of Soobin again and although things looked bad it could just be a misunderstanding. Judgement was a tricky thing. People are complicated and what a person seems to one could be completely different to others. Who that person really was would be blurred and it can go so far that even the person themselves might lose their identity. </p><p>He thinks of Soobin again. He was very soft-spoken, but there seemed to be an underlying hardness to him as well. He remembered briefly touching Soobin's hand back in the chaos that was wrapping his injury. He remembered his skin being smooth, but his hands rough. A contradiction to one another. It reminded Yeonjun of how when he first became friends with Beomgyu he thought the man was so pretty and that there was somehow never a single blemish on his skin. He had never even seen a cut on Beomgyu. He seemed like the perfect guy straight out of a comic. One day Yeonjun had accidentally walked in on Beomgyu undressing where he unintentionally saw a long, dark, mangled scar right below his ribcage. </p><p>Beomgyu had gotten angry at him even though Yeonjun didn't mean to see it. He shoved him out of the bathroom so hard Yeonjun nearly knocked into the dresser. After a few minutes Beomgyu had come out and apologized. Said his scar makes him feel ugly. Yeonjun assured him that he was anything but. It was the first time Beomgyu had let down his guard in front of Yeonjun and even now Yeonjun tries to assure him that he is much more than that scar and wherever it came from. </p><p>Yeonjun had also never asked about that. Beomgyu didn't seem ready to share so Yeonjun didn't pry. Beomgyu liked his secrets and liked to keep them hidden and Yeonjun wouldn't force him to change that. It did however seem so contradictory to what Yeonjun had originally believed. His loud personality and no filter had seemed like an indication that Beomgyu wasn't a very private person which was the complete opposite of reality. So yeah, contradictions. Beomgyu was one. Maybe Soobin was too. </p><p>Yeonjun pulled out his phone and dialed Beomgyu's number. It rang four times before it was picked up, Beomgyu's scratchy voice answering. </p><p>Yeonjun paused momentarily, frowning at the obvious indication that Beomgyu was still upset about last night, before continuing. </p><p>"Hey, Gyu! I don't mean to bother you but, uh, have you seen the news today?" </p><p>The voice on the other end of the line snorted in response. </p><p>"Hyung, when have I ever watched the fucking news. Actually, when have you ever watched the news?" </p><p>Yeonjun let out a short laugh while fiddling with the string on his navy hoodie. </p><p>"I didn't intend to. I was just at the coffee shop before class and that was what they had on the screen."</p><p>"Oh. Well, then why are you asking me about it?" </p><p>Yeonjun took a breath before responding. </p><p>"There was this couple that got attacked last night. It was at <em>The Blue Hour. </em>The couple though, we saw them there. It has me kind of freaked out. One of them is missing Gyu, that's serious. I know you had that unfortunate run-in with those two guys, but did anything else seem off to you?" </p><p>Beomgyu didn't answer back for a minute. A minute too long for Yeonjun. When he did answer there was a slight difference from before. His tone had changed from laid-back to suddenly worried. Maybe even scared. Yeonjun couldn't blame him, he was pretty alarmed himself. </p><p>"N-No. I didn't. I was really distracted though. I could've missed something that was right in front of me." </p><p>Yeonjun hummed. </p><p>"Was something off to you, hyung?" Beomgyu suddenly questioned. </p><p>"Oh! No, I just wanted to make sure nothing weird happened to you!" Yeonjun said. That was true although not the reason he called. Beomgyu was quiet for another moment. </p><p>"I would tell you. Y'know, if something was really wrong. I would." </p><p>"I believe you. You don't have to assure me, Gyu." </p><p>"Okay." </p><p>Yeonjun frowned. He wanted Beomgyu to say that he knew he didn't have to assure Yeonjun. That he knew Yeonjun trusted him. They hadn't been friends for a decade, but Beomgyu was honestly the closest friend Yeonjun ever had. The only one he was willing to spill his secrets to. The only one he willingly let down his defenses for. Beomgyu was the closest thing to a brother Yeonjun had ever had and his heart hurt a bit when he thought that maybe Beomgyu didn't feel that way with him. That there was still a barrier that had yet to be crossed when it came to their relationship on Beomgyu's side. Yeonjun badly wanted get to the other side of it. He wanted to be what Beomgyu was for him. Even though he complained sometimes, Yeonjun really wanted Beomgyu to have someone. At times, it seemed like Beomgyu had no one, not even himself, on his side. </p><p>***</p><p>Choi Beomgyu was not a good person. </p><p>This doesn't come as a surprise to him. He's known it for a long time now. </p><p>There would be very few people who would speak highly of him and the ones who would are either dead or not associating with him anymore. Which he guesses would mean no one could speak highly of him actually. </p><p>There was only one person and Beomgyu felt the weight of guilt for taking advantage of that relationship every day. </p><p>Yeonjun was a lifeline for Beomgyu. The one thing that kept his head above water when all he wanted was to drown sometimes. Yeonjun never pressured Beomgyu into telling him about his life, never poked and prodded at his secrets he kept locked away, he just held him when he cried even when he didn't know why, and took him shopping to make him feel better afterwards. </p><p>He has thought about telling Yeonjun the truth, but he has grown so attached to the boy and he is terrified to inevitably let go. Yeonjun won't look at him the same if he finds out the truth not just in hurt and betrayal, but fear and ironically that scares Beomgyu more than anything else. </p><p>It seems as though if he doesn't tell him soon however that he will no longer have a choice and the truth may not even come from him which would really solidify the end of their friendship. Beomgyu couldn't have that. </p><p>God, he never should've taken Yeonjun to that club. He knew it was popular, but if he had know what was lurking in the shadows ready to throw him back into the past he never would've even stepped within ten feet of the place. </p><p>The looks on his old friends faces when they saw him standing across the room may be imbedded into Beomgyu's memory for another 100 years he's sure. The look of disbelief, confusion, and then finally a fiery hot anger in their eyes that Beomgyu could spot from a mile away. </p><p>It was Kai who made the first move this time. </p><p>His long legs headed straight towards Beomgyu who had frozen in place. The light in Kai's eyes pinning him to the ground. </p><p>"What the hell are you doing here?" The boy angrily asked. </p><p>Beomgyu just looked at him. He wasn't the little innocent kid he remembered. He was taller now, maybe even taller than Soobin at this point. He had lost the baby fat that used to round his cheeks and his voice was deeper than it had been all that time ago. Beomgyu felt his eyes glisten and looked away. </p><p>"Are you seriously not going to answer me, <em>hyung?</em>" The word was said in mockery and Beomgyu had to bite his lip to hold in his tears. He had never thought Kai, their baby Kai, could ever be so vicious. Taehyun was always the one who could shatter you with words, so much so you would wish he had killed you instead. </p><p>Kai reached out to grab Beomgyu's arm and the man flinched back but it was for naught. Another hand had reached out to stop him. When the voice that belonged to the hand spoke Beomgyu felt a thousand shards pierce his heart all at once. </p><p>"Kai, don't waste your energy, please" His voice was soft and melodic and Beomgyu missed it so so much. He had seen him across the room with Kai, but it didn't feel real until this very moment. Taehyun. Taehyun, his best friend, his muse, the one who understood him more than anyone except when it mattered most. That Taehyun was standing right in front of him and Beomgyu was too much of a coward to look up. </p><p>"Hyung, he knows this place has a lot of demon activity and we have to watch this place often! Considering he didn't want to be involved with us anymore why did he decide to show up here!" Kai exclaimed to Taehyun who put a comforting hand on his shoulder. </p><p>Beomgyu, in fact, didn't know that this place had a lot of demon activity. He guessed there was a lot of things he didn't know now, that he would've before. </p><p>"I-I didn't know that this place was a hot spot for them. I wouldn't have brought my friend here if I did." He stammered out. It was a shitty first thing to say to two people who 100 years ago used to be his. There was a long, empty, suffocating silence after that before Kai scoffed. </p><p>"Your <em>friend, </em>huh? I wonder what poor human got stuck with you." </p><p>Beomgyu almost kneeled over when he spoke. Apparently, Kai had learned from Taehyun and boy was he good at it. </p><p>"Let's go, Kai." Taehyun said sternly and grabbed Kai's arm to pull him away. After a second, however, he turned back. </p><p>"Choi Beomgyu, do your friend a favor and the two of you leave this place before they get hurt. The demons may still think you are one of us and go after you. Or you can do what you do best and leave them here to fend for themselves. You do what you want, as always." He said without any kind of tone in his voice. No indication of anger, sadness, or even disappointment. Just pure monotone. Clearly, Kai hadn't mastered that yet as his retorts were filled with anger behind them. But Taehyun knew how to make Beomgyu hurt most. To make him believe he doesn't care. Beomgyu can take fire, he can take pain, he can take anything someone throws his way. But he can't take the feeling of nothing. That Beomgyu makes Taehyun feel nothing especially when he knows he used to make him feel everything. </p><p>He lasts as long as it takes the two men to round the corner before he breaks and sprints in the opposite direction. He's sure he gets in countless people's way but his focus is shot and he barely recalls where he ended up when he finally collapses to the ground in some random corner outside the club. </p><p>The pain in his chest is overbearing and he feels as if his heart might explode as he tries to take a breath in between sobs. He remembers sitting there crying for at least fifteen minutes replaying Taehyun's words in his brain before registering that he left Yeonjun in there. He manages to gain some composure of himself and walk back into the club. He sees a flash of something behind him and forces his legs to go faster and get Yeonjun out quicker before something comes to get them. </p><p>Beomgyu's memories fade out and he's left sitting on his old couch he's had for fifty years in his apartment. Tears are stuck on his face and he wipes them harshly. He gets a glance at a mark on the right side of his wrist. It's small and resembles a birthmark. It's a crisscross of lines formed into the shape of what would most likely remind humans of the letter x. It was burned into his skin when he was young like the rest of the ones his age. It's used as identification in the human world, to be able to recognize your own. </p><p>The surefire mark of a devil. </p><p>***</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this is a beomie loving household i assure you !!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i am so sorry this chapter took so long !! this was a hard one for me. i kept feeling unsatisfied with it. i hope it's not too horrible for you all. im hoping to get the next chapter out much faster!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You have got to be kidding me?!" </p><p>Soobin's voice echoed across the large apartment and Kai, who had been taking a nice nap, bolted up. </p><p>"What? Hyung, what is it?" Kai asked coming up next to him. Soobin just stared in annoyance at the television in front of him that displayed the news. </p><p>"So you've seen it finally?" A voice from behind the two questioned. Kai spun around while Soobin just sighed as Taehyun stood now in front of them with an obvious 'I told you so' look on his face. </p><p>Kai furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he watched the two older boys stare at each other before Soobin let out a groan and flopped on the couch. Taehyun rolled his eyes and sat down next to him. </p><p>"How the hell was I supposed to know that the girl was gonna play up to the police? Act like she was a human being attacked? Now the cops are gonna be a constant problem for the foreseeable future!" Soobin complained. </p><p>Kai sat down with the two others now as well realizing why Soobin was having a tantrum. </p><p>"Yes. If only someone had warned you in advance that letting a demon wander around even if they can't physically harm someone still isn't a good idea." Taehyun said sarcasm dripping in his tone. </p><p>Soobin pushed his friend with his foot and Taehyun fell into Kai who laughed at Soobin's bratty response. </p><p>Despite their joking matter it definitely wasn't a good thing that the police would now be more alert in patrolling the Blue Hour. The place was a constant hub for demons and if all the devils assigned to this area didn't do their job no matter the circumstance the angels would be on their ass. </p><p>Kai cringed just thinking about it. </p><p>In fact, the angels might even suspend Soobin for it since he let the one demon stay in the human world longer than he should've. Kai was jumping to conclusions quickly, but he couldn't help it. Very few of the angels were fair when it came to judgement of the devils. They looked down upon them and viewed them in a negative light even though most of the active devils nowadays were just the offspring of the ones who fell from grace and were banished to hell. The original devils. The fallen angels. </p><p>Kai remembered, when he was still what was considered young by the devils, one of the older ones telling him how this all came to be. How their parents were angels but committed sins and were sent to hell. When they had children the angels who oversaw them at least had the decency to not stick them in hell for eternity and proposed the idea of them protecting the human world from all the demons that lingered about. </p><p>The agreement was made between the heavens and the children of the original devils became the protectors of the humans.</p><p>Of course that doesn't mean the stuck-up angels had lost their prejudice against the new devils and would seek out punishment for them if they ever made a mistake. </p><p>Thus, Kai still worried. Not only of this making their job more difficult, but also the possible repercussions that his hyung could face if the angels were feeling particularly bitchy recently. </p><p>The worst punishment you could get, however, was that of being banished back to hell. </p><p>Hell, even though it was technically where the offspring were born, was to nobody's surprise not a very fun place to live. Devils preferred living amongst the humans as they had a more lively and fun atmosphere that they called home. Hell was the opposite. It was very loud and cramped and no one liked it very much. The devils did have homes there, but they only used it on occasion. The demons were much too annoying to truly ever enjoy being there. </p><p>And if you were banished, where the demons were was where you were stuck. The demons are beings that live off of anger and hatred for both angels and devils as the devils rule over them. So, when you are banished you are in for the demons torturing you in any way they see fit. Devils may be invincible in the human world, but they certainly are not when it comes to their own. </p><p>Kai was brought out of his thoughts when Soobin whined. The television was now flashing the Blue Hour's exterior and asking the public for any information regarding the so called 'incidents'. </p><p>"Could this get any worse?" He heard Soobin mumble and Taehyun wacked him with a pillow. </p><p>"Yes. It could get much much worse, hyung!" The boy exclaimed. </p><p>Soobin glared at Taehyun and raised him arm in a very vulgar manner. Kai laughed, but then scrunched his eyebrows together as he saw a faint scar on the older's arm. He panicked for a second before remembering that one of the demons had scratched him the other night and relaxed only for his eyes to widen again. </p><p>"Hyung!" Kai yelled. </p><p>Soobin and Taehyun both looked at the youngest in confusion. </p><p>"D-Didn't you say you ran into human the other night who saw your injury. You were coming back from dealing with those two demons so wouldn't he have noticed where you came from?" He stammered. </p><p>Soobin looked confused at first, before the realization dawned on him. </p><p>"And now it's worse." Taehyun grumbled leaning his head back on the couch. </p><p>Soobin was silent for a moment before regaining his bearings. </p><p>"Okay, well, that's not ideal, but I really don't think he was paying that much attention to where I came from!" He reassured. </p><p>Taehyun and Kai both stared at Soobin, unimpressed looks on their faces. </p><p>"You need to go and find that human and make sure they aren't going to say something to the cops." Taehyun ordered. </p><p>Soobin looked to Kai for sympathy, but unfortunately for him Kai was on Taehyun's side for this one. </p><p>"You need to, hyung. We don't want it to turn into something we can't control." The youngest explained to him. </p><p>Soobin slouched back before eventually nodding in confirmation. </p><p>Kai felt a pang in his chest when he looked at the elder. There was a time a couple centuries ago where when Kai looked at Soobin he was intimidated. By his power, by his aura, by his everything. Soobin was a legend to the younger devils even though he was not that many centuries older than them. He had already made a name for himself in the underworld. That was a long time ago however and Soobin had been through a lot since then. Things that Kai did and did not know of. He wasn't even certain if what Soobin had told him was accurate anyway. </p><p>The one thing he knew for certain was that Soobin was very different than what he used to be. </p><p>He was still a great fighter and very protective over things he cares for, but there used to be a spark in him that had since died out and it was times like this where Soobin looked so defeated that Kai truly missed what his hyung once was. </p><p>***</p><p>The bed Taehyun lies in is much too big for just himself. It was a reflexive thing for him to choose this bedroom, still too used to factoring in the presence of one more person. However, that person was long gone, leaving everyone else to question why they left. Taehyun had thought back then that that person, his person to be exact, was playing a joke on them. He's always liked tricks and jokes. Taehyun had almost convinced himself that was what had happened, that he would come back to him and laugh until Taehyun started hitting him and saying it wasn't funny but forgive him anyway. He hoped for a long time that that was the case, that he would wake up and find him by his side again, find Beomgyu again. </p><p>Eventually, Taehyun realized that he was gone, that he had left them for good. His heart had shattered then and he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of how in denial he had been. Heartbreak had turned to anger, however, and every time he thought of his lost love his blood would boil. He pushed thoughts of Beomgyu away and away until there was only a small trace of him left in Taehyun's memory. He knew though that he could never get rid of him completely, but he could deal with the small bouts of pain that the sporadic memories would bring him on occasion. </p><p>That was until last night, when every moment with Beomgyu came back to him in an unyielding spiral. </p><p>For a second he thought he was seeing things. He thought that the the boy across the room with curly hair and glossy lips couldn't be Beomgyu. But then he turned, and it was so unmistakably Beomgyu that Taehyun had to lean on Kai's shoulder for support. </p><p>It was almost as if he was seeing a ghost. Beomgyu standing on the other side of the space, glitter on his cheek, looking so stunning it about took Taehyun's breath away for a second time. Then Beomgyu turned his head and the two of them locked eyes and Taehyun felt his lungs give out. </p><p>But just like his sadness, his shock became anger. <br/><br/>Looking back he doesn’t recall what he said, but he knows it stung the other man. Just like Taehyun had hoped. <br/><br/>Even now it brings a cruel smile to his face. The idea that Beomgyu felt even a sliver of the pain that Taehyun and the others had. That he felt an arrow striking his heart last night was a glory Taehyun relished in. However, it would never compare to the thousand shards of glass that shredded his heart in two the night Beomgyu left and it would never make up for it either. <br/><br/>Last night reminded him of Soobin and the dangerous situation he had got himself into. Taehyun was serious when he had told him he needed to find that human he had ran into as soon as possible. He was deeply worried about the consequences that may befall his friend if they didn’t get the ordeal sorted. If it was newbie devil it wouldn’t be a big deal, but Soobin was far from a newbie. <br/><br/>In fact the stupid mistake Soobin had pulled last night is the exact thing his hyung had used to look down on others for doing regardless of how long they had been doing it. <br/><br/>It shouldn’t surprise Taehyun at this point, how reckless Soobin had become, especially when Taehyun was always the one cleaning up the mess left behind. </p><p>Soobin had told him last night that he knew Taehyun trusted him, but at this point Taehyun didn't know if that really was the truth anymore. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>The Blue Hour, as most clubs do, looked very different in daylight. </p><p>The parking lot was empty and the building was dark and from where Soobin was standing on the corner of the street it looked deserted. </p><p>However, he knew that the building still was home to quite a few people. If you looked good enough. </p><p>The streets were empty, save for a few people heading to lunch from work, so Soobin quickly skipped across the road to the entrance of the Blue Hour. He serviced the area before heading towards the back of the lot. The back was seemingly as empty as the front as Soobin turned but there was a small closed off staircase to the left that drew his attention. Soobin was careful as he descended. The stone that made up the stairs was crumbling right below him. </p><p>Eventually he made his way to the door he had been looking for. There were a few spiderwebs lining the door, but Soobin moved those aside to knock. </p><p>Nothing. </p><p>Soobin expected that so he waited a few seconds more before knocking again. </p><p>Silence. </p><p>Soobin rolled his eyes and knocked rampantly against the decaying wood. </p><p>There was another moment of nothing before the door creaked slightly opened and a girl poked her cat eyes out. </p><p>"What do you want Soobin?" She huffed. </p><p>"Hello to you too, Yeji!" Soobin grumbled back. </p><p>"You didn't answer my question?" </p><p>"I need to ask you about someone who was here last night." </p><p>He saw Yeji scrunch her eyebrows and open the door a bit more so he could actually see the girl's face. </p><p>Yeji and her girls owned the Blue Hour. The club was such a hub of demon activity that all the devils felt it would be more safe if one of them took charge of the place instead of the original human owners. It only took a couple hundred thousands for the previous owners to surrender their club to Yeji and Soobin has to admit she turned the place from an average club to one of the most popular in all of Seoul. </p><p>The girls monitored the Blue Hour during the day and several others would be assigned to monitor it during the night when the demons presence was almost guaranteed. However, Yeji and her girls always kept a close eye on whoever was allowed entrance into the club just in case things took a dangerous turn. </p><p>"Why? Wanna date them?" Yeji snickered and moved the door the rest of the way. Soobin groaned and let himself be pulled into the back room. The other girls were either out or sleeping right now due to the pandemonium Soobin had unintentionally caused. </p><p>"No. Listen, I-I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to cause you all a bunch of stress. I should've sought out the other demon before retreating. I thought the girl wouldn't do anything, but I was wrong clearly." </p><p>"That's nice and I appreciate the apology but that's not what you are here for so cut to the chase and tell me." </p><p>Soobin hesitated and scratched his head. He never liked seeking help from others, he always wanted to do and fix things himself, but he had to take this hit against his pride or else he would be screwed. </p><p>"I need to find a boy and-No, don't give me that look!"</p><p>Yeji giggled. </p><p>"I need to find a guy who was here last night. He saw the cut on my arm from the demon duo and I'm worried he may connect the dots and think I'm the one who 'went after them'." He explained. </p><p>Yeji nodded her head and asked for a description. </p><p>"His name was Yeonjun. He had pink hair actually. He was wearing some kind of shirt with a smiley face on it. I can't remember if it was white or black. He had his ears pierced too and really glossy lips!" Soobin was cut off by Yeji snickering. He glared at her and she skipped ahead of him to knock on one of the doors in the psuedo apartment. A beat of silence before a slightly shorter girl emerged. He hair was a bit of a mess and she was still wearing her pajamas. When she looked up and saw Soobin she let out a screech and hid behind Yeji. </p><p>"Yeji, what the fuck? You didn't tell me he would be here?" The girl stammered. </p><p>"Ryujin, I didn't know he was gonna be here. He just showed up a few minutes ago. He's looking for someone from the club last night and you were the one scanning last night so you would know best." Yeji laughed while speaking to her friend. </p><p>Ryujin pouted in response but allowed Soobin to relay what he had told Yeji. The shorter girl hummed in response and squinted her eyes in thought. </p><p>"I remember him. He hadn't been here before so he stood out. Let me go check the security guard's list to see if he put his name down." The girl said before scurrying away to the stairs that connected to the club. The two remaining waited for a few beats before Ryujin returned. </p><p>The girl, who was now more awake, skipped up and held up a list of names that Soobin assumed was the attendance list from the night before and pointed to a name that was about halfway down. </p><p>"Here he is. Choi Yeonjun." </p><p>Soobin sighed. The last name would help him a bit, but not by much. He had to guess that the boy he ran into was about 24 so he wasn't in college anymore at least. The only good thing was that Yeonjun was not that common of a name unlike Soobin's own. </p><p>Soobin thanked the girls and made his exit. Yeji smiled at him and Ryujin waved him off as she went back to bed. <br/><br/>Soobin’s next task was finding Yeonjun in this big ass city. <br/><br/></p><p>***</p><p>Beomgyu was acting weird, Yeonjun thought as he watched his friend zone out watching the movie. ‘Home Alone’ was his favorite so Beomgyu being completely checked out as the robbers got their asses kicked was very worrisome. He had half a mind to just flick Beomgyu on the forehead to see if he would react but that probably wouldn't illicit a good response. He let it be for a few more minutes, but when it was nearing the end of the movie and Beomgyu still looked like he was everywhere but the present Yeonjun had had enough. He pressed pause on the movie and turned to his friend with a pout on his face. </p><p>"Gyu, what the fuck?" Beomgyu startled when Yeonjun spoke, "You didn't even laugh when the kid cut the line on the two guys. I really am not trying to pry but what happened the other night is clearly hurting you more than you're admitting. I <em>will</em> listen to you if you need it. I know that we are both different people then we were before so I promise whatever happened between you and your friends I won't judge you on." </p><p>Yeonjun tried to convey how sincere his words were through his eyes. He watched Beomgyu look at him guiltily and turn away. He could imagine the thoughts running rampantly in his friend's head as he stared ahead. He could sense the hesitancy when Beomgyu opened his mouth to respond. </p><p>"I-I'm not a good person Yeonjun. Those people-my friends-I hurt them deeply. I left them when they needed me most. When it seemed like everything was falling down around us, I abandoned them. I never even gave them a reason or even had the guts to say goodbye. I just <em>left. </em>They were my best friends for so long and then I just ditched them for a life that they could never have. I deserved what I got from them at the club. I probably deserved more actually." </p><p>There were tears shining in Beomgyu's eyes that he didn't let fall and it made Yeonjun's heart ache. He wanted Beomgyu to cry to him, to let out all the things he was holding back, but he wouldn't. Yeonjun knows he wouldn't. He half-expected Beomgyu to not even give him what he is now. A piece of the mess that was his heart. Yeonjun would've accepted it if he didn't. He knows that a broken heart is like a 10,000 piece puzzle in putting it back together. </p><p>Yeonjun wrapped his arms around his friend and leaned against him. </p><p>"Beomgyu, you are not a bad person. I'm sure you've made mistakes and I'm sure you've hurt people but look at yourself. You feel bad about it, you regret it, if you were a bad person you wouldn't care. I know you care so so much. I'm not perfect either Gyu. No one is." Yeonjun wiped Beomgyu's face with his sleeve as he spoke, "I know it's hard. Especially when you see people from your past. But sometimes you just have to accept that that was the person you were then and it's up to you to decide who you are going to be now. Now, stop crying and come with me to get ice cream!" </p><p>Beomgyu laughed. "You just want ice cream for yourself." </p><p>"I know, but I'm not gonna leave you here all mopey so let's go!"</p><p>***</p><p>Soobin has been here for twenty minutes and already has to add a new enemy to his very, very long list. </p><p>The newest addition is an older, skinny, librarian woman who knew Soobin had to be trouble when the first thing he did upon entering was upend a whole stack of books she was organizing. If looks could truly kill Soobin would be nonexistent at this point. </p><p>He had apologized, then sheepishly asked where the computers were, only to get a very unenthused point in some direction. He eventually found them, but when the computer wouldn't work after five minutes of trying Soobin had spewed out a litnay of curses before realizing there were quite a lot of children and their now very disturbed mothers around. </p><p>Okay, so maybe he had more than one enemy to add to the list now. </p><p>Soobin had typed in '<em>Choi Yeonjun"</em>  into the search bar only for 2,000 results to pop up. He decided to be more specific going forward. </p><p>He knew Yeonjun was probably in college and had to live around Seoul for him to come to the Blue Hour. However, he mentioned a friend so it was possible his friend brought him. He decided to search '<em>Choi Yeonjun Seoul ' </em>anyway. This time 108 results for the keywords popped up. Although not ideal Soobin could more or less work with that. </p><p>After going through a few links talking about an older gentleman with a dog missing from 2 years ago, an ad for a chiropractor near Itaewon, and a new jeweler selling nice pieces (Soobin writes this one down), he finally finds something. It's similar to the old telephone books except online. It lists the name, date of birth, and cellphone. Soobin is going out on a whim but he may have found the right person. The date of birth is 1999 which is around the age Soobin would place Yeonjun at and the cellphone number has an area code for Seoul. He hurriedly copies down the information and logs out. He almost feels the librarian cheering in his head. </p><p>When he gets out of the building he leans against the corner of the wall and dials the number. It rings three times before it connects and Soobin holds his breath. </p><p>"Helloooo! Who is this unknown person calling me and should I add you to my contacts?" </p><p>"Wooyoung, did you seriously answer it! Do you not understand what 'Unknown caller' means?" </p><p>"Relax Yeosangie you're the one taking this too seriously!" </p><p>Soobin deflates. That was not Yeonjun's voice and clearly the number doesn't even belong to him anymore. But still, Soobin must try to get information. </p><p>"Uh, do you by chance know a Choi Yeonjun?" </p><p>The line is silent for a moment. </p><p>"Has Yeonjun not told his friends his new number yet? That idiot. He let me have his old phone like a month ago!" A boy responds, Wooyoung, Soobin guesses. </p><p>"I guess not-" </p><p>"Ugh, am I gonna have to deal with Yeonjun's parents calling me too?" </p><p>"Maybe-" Soobin responds despite knowing that question was not intended for him. </p><p>"They're so overbearing though, ugh. Oh wait! Random person you're still here!" </p><p>"Yes, do you mind answering my question from earlier?" He bites out. </p><p>"Oh, well, of course I know Yeonjun. I can give you his new number if you want-" Soobin has to suddenly pull the phone back from his ear when a sudden vibration of noise comes through the speaker. </p><p>"Yeosang, what the fuck? Why did you just hit me?" </p><p>"You shouldn't be giving strangers Yeonjun's personal information!" </p><p>"He's not a stranger. He knows his name!" </p><p>There was silence on the end of the line again. </p><p>Then a ruffling sound. Then a new voice spoke.</p><p>"Hello. What business do you have with Yeonjun? I may or may not give you his contact information depending on your answer." The voice was curt and straight to the point. Soobin had to guess this was Yeosang now. </p><p>"Uh, I met him recently and I'm worried there may have been a misunderstanding between us. I ust want to clear it up and go our seperate ways." </p><p>"What kind of misunderstanding?" </p><p>"Uh, I think that should be just be between me and him." </p><p>"Yeosangie they were probably hooking up-" </p><p>"No no no no we were not!" Soobin stutters. </p><p>"So insistent. Almost like he's hiding something?" Wooyoung says next to the phone.</p><p>"Hey! I thought you were on my side just a second ago!" </p><p>"Oh my god! It doesn't matter! Fine, I'll give you Yeonjun's number but if I find out that you are some creeper or someone sent to spy on him I will personally find you and kill you alright?" </p><p>Soobin, for all the demon blood running through his veins, was a bit terrified of this Yeosang guy. </p><p>He was quick to jot down the number when Yeosang gave it to him and then was promptly hung up on. </p><p>It didn't matter though. Soobin had what he needed. </p><p>***</p><p>He would've had what he needed if the man in question ever answered his damn phone. Soobin had called Yeonjun, which he knew it was by the overly cheery voicemail, three times with no answer. It had been such a tedious process to get his number that Soobin was on the verge of giving up. However, he would be screwed if he actually did. He could think about it though. </p><p>Although, right now he needed a break. He had been running around all day trying to find this guy and he thought he deserved a little treat and rest time for it. So, ice cream. Ice cream helped everything as far as Soobin was concerned. </p><p>He put in a search for the nearest ice cream place and found one about four blocks away. </p><p>The sun was starting to slowly set as he approached the building. It was painted in a baby pink and mint green and Soobin admired the dedication to the color palette as he entered. He quickly ordered a vanilla cone which Kai would tease him for. 'Out of all the combinations you choose the most plain one,' he would say. Soobin would raise his finger to him in response. He enjoyed his plain vanilla thank you very much. </p><p>He sat in one of the available chairs in the somewhat small sitting area and started munching on his snack. There were few others in the place so Soobin payed them no mind. As he was finishing off his cone, however, he heard giggling behind him. Any other day he wouldn't have even noticed it, but for some reason he felt inclined to turn his head.</p><p>Soobin was caught off guard when the first thing he saw was the exact person he had spent all day looking for. The pink hair still making the man stand out. A wave of relief crashed over Soobin and he thanked whatever angel gave him a free pass this time, literally. But, and there was always a but that came with things like this. </p><p>Yeonjun was giggling with one of his friends and when Soobin turned his head a bit more to see who it was he felt that wave of relief turn cold. </p><p>Because sitting next to Yeonjun was someone Soobin thought he would never see again, someone who left them out in the cold, someone who used to be his friend. </p><p>He was staring at Choi Beomgyu, the sole reason Soobin's family almost split apart. </p><p>***</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oh the DRAMA!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>took longer than i wanted but hopefully this is a decent chapter! we learn a bit more about the devils and the main plot kicks into gear!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a time when Soobin was alone. </p><p>Nobody wanted to be around him when he was younger. He was stronger, faster, smarter, and more powerful than any devil his age should've been. That made him a threat. That made him lonely. He would sit by himself when the devils were being trained to go out into the human world. Then, he would watch as everyone sneered at him when it was his turn. The teachers, if you could call them that, told him to appreciate the looks of envy. It meant he had something they didn't, but wanted so badly. Soobin would nod and agree, but not speak of his thoughts that they had something he wanted too. </p><p>Friends. </p><p>They had people to talk and gossip to, people to cheer them on, people that were just...there. Soobin had no one. Until, he did. He had someone. </p><p>It wasn't instantaneous. Soobin had walked into the training area as usual, but this time there was someone in his spot. He had frowned, but assumed the kid was new and would get the memo about Soobin soon enough. He approached his spot and sat down next to him. He expected the kid to look up at him, perhaps realize his mistake, but instead he just continued drawing invisible patterns on the floor. It was...weird to have someone next to him after what seemed like so long, but Soobin didn't revel in it. He was sure it would be the only time it happened. </p><p>But then, the next day when Soobin walked into the room the kid was there again. This time the others had taken notice and gossiped in front of him, but the kid paid no attention to the haughty whispers and only focused on what the teacher was saying. It was almost admirable. Still, it didn't leave Soobin's mind that the kid may have ulterior motives. </p><p>When the kid was still sitting there the third day, Soobin had had enough. There was no way he hadn't heard about Soobin and his reputation, there was no way the others hadn't told him to stay away, so why the hell was he still there? What exactly did he want? </p><p>His anger was growing as he approached the kid who still didn't bother to look up at him. </p><p>"What the hell are you doing?" Finally, the boy looked up. </p><p>His eyes were round and the kid would've looked smaller had it not been for the glint of mischief in his iris. </p><p>"Sitting." </p><p>Soobin scoffed and glared. </p><p>"No shit. I mean why the hell are you sitting here?"</p><p>"Do you own this spot?" </p><p>Was this the kid's game? To let Soobin make a fool out of himself? </p><p>Instead of responding to the question, Soobin plopped on the ground, the boy still looking at him. </p><p>"Nobody ever comes over here, everyone stays away, so why the fuck did you stick around?" He asks. The boy still looks at him, but there is a shift in his eyes. The mischievous look now replaced with a different emotion that Soobin couldn't place. </p><p>"I don't like being lonely, but everyone here is full of shit. You're the only other person who's alone therefore you must be at least a little better than everyone else." </p><p>Soobin wasn't expecting such an honest answer to come from the boy and it made him pause. The boy was speaking what Soobin had already heard countless times before from the teachers, but this time it seemed different. It felt different. Maybe because for once someone wasn't looking at Soobin with expectations but instead understanding. </p><p>"W-What makes you so sure of that?" He asks hesitantly.</p><p>"All of them talk bad about you but can't actually give a reason as to why." The glint was back in the boy's eyes as he snickered. </p><p>The boy seemed sincere, but could Soobin really trust that? He hadn't seen him with anyone else, but that didn't mean anything. But Soobin was so tired of being alone and this may be his only chance to make a friend. So, he took a gamble and went for it. </p><p>"The teachers say they're jealous of me. I'm better than them at everything so they isolate me from everyone." </p><p>"They sure do seem like the type to pull that kind of stuff." </p><p>It was nice to feel validated by someone, Soobin thought. He has spent all of his training so far being pretty much told to just deal with it and that he should feel happy that he is envied. How can he be happy when he's so alone? </p><p>"Yeah, I guess."</p><p>The boy stared at Soobin before sighing. </p><p>"I'm Beomgyu." He said with his hand held out. </p><p>"Soobin." He cautiously took the others hand. </p><p>It was awkward between them but not uncomfortable and Soobin let himself hope that maybe he finally found a friend. </p><p>It's ironic, however, that the person who first gave him a family almost made it fall apart. </p><p>***</p><p>Soobin was running. Running away from the ice cream shop, running away from Yeonjun, but most of all running away from Beomgyu and all the pain that comes with even the thought of him. His heart was pulsating in his chest and he could feel his legs straining to keep going. His breaths were heavy and he squeezed his fists together in order to have the strength to push through. </p><p>Finally, finally he saw his apartment building. He almost collapsed right there on the pavement, but his pride not wanting other people to see him like this he forego the elevator, and forced himself to walk the stairs. It wasn't a short walk either. He was almost crawling by the time he reached his door, hand shaking and limbs achy, and he just wanted to sleep. The cool granite of his apartment floor was a welcomed feeling and he lay on the ground just to trying to breathe. He felt tears spring to his eyes and he held them back with all his might, but the only thing he could see behind his eyes was Beomgyu's face. </p><p>He had been laughing with Yeonjun and they were giving each other bites of their ice cream when Soobin turned around and he felt an anger he hadn't felt in a while come to the surface. How could Beomgyu be happy? How could he giggle and smile when he put the people he supposedly loved through hell? </p><p>The rage had dissolved into pain again. Soobin couldn't control his tears this time as they made their way down his cheeks. That's how Taehyun and Kai found him a few moments later. They were startled, to say the least. </p><p>"H-hyung??" Kai said softly as he bent down to the floor, "What's wrong? What happened?" </p><p>Soobin tried to get himself together, but it was difficult and he almost felt like giving in to the pain, letting it overtake him. But he couldn't. After all, he wasn't the only one affected by Beomgyu's presence. </p><p>He tried to slow his breathing down and sit up with the help of Kai who looked at him in deep concern. A glance to his right showed Taehyun rigid as a statue and an even worse feeling pooled in his gut. He stared at him for a while, ignoring Kai's questions on his well-being, and concluded that Taehyun looked as if he had seen a ghost. As if Soobin coming here in this state was the confirmation that the ghost was real. </p><p>"Did you know? Did you both know?" Soobin rasped. Taehyun startled and Kai just looked confused. Soobin stared hard at Taehyun, willing him to drop the act. </p><p>"It's only been a day, hyung." Taehyun replied monotonously. </p><p>"A day? A day since what?" The confusion in Kai's voice grew. </p><p>"That's why you and Kai were upset last night. Why didn't you tell me?" Soobin asked harshly, his anger only growing the longer Taehyun stared at him. </p><p>The words Soobin spoke registered in Kai's brain and he came to a realization and flinched away from the boy on the ground. </p><p>"W-We were still trying to process it ourselves." Taehyun murmured quietly. </p><p>"We are supposed to do that together! We promised we wouldn't leave the others in the dark when something bad happened!" Soobin shouted. Kai drew further away and Taehyun huffed in agitation. </p><p>"It's only been like twenty fucking hours hyung! I was still trying to make sure I hadn't dreamed the whole damn thing!" </p><p>"Guys, stop arguing. We'll get nowhere with that. Beomgyu already almost tore us apart from each other, don't let him do it again." Kai had gathered his bearings and gotten up off the floor to stand between the two older devils. It almost startled Soobin with how much older Kai suddenly looked, and he felt ashamed for his outburst. </p><p>He slowly stood up on shaky legs and leaned against Kai who held onto him steadily. </p><p>"M'sorry. He just caught me off guard and I took it out on you two." Soobin said and Kai patted his back. </p><p>"Where did you see him, hyung?" Taehyun asked, his voice softer now. Soobin let out an unamused laugh. </p><p>"God, the angels really fucking hate me don't they? I saw him at an ice cream shop and you'll never guess who he was with." </p><p>"No way." Kai muttered while Taehyun groaned. </p><p>"Yep. The same guy I've been looking for today. What are the goddamn chances." Soobin spat out. </p><p>"Did you talk to him?" Taehyun asked.</p><p>"No. When I saw Beomgyu I just got the hell out of there." </p><p>"Did Beomgyu even see you?" </p><p>"I don't know, Taehyun." Soobin said, growing frustrated, but still he could see the look in his friend's eyes. The heartbreak, the anger, and even a touch of longing. Soobin wished he could be upset at Taehyun for having a part of himself still want Beomgyu, but he couldn't. Soobin would be a hypocrite if he did. Because for one short moment when Soobin saw Beomgyu look his way he thought a damning thought. </p><p>'I miss you' </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Everything had been going well. Yeonjun and Beomgyu had been joking around in the ice cream shop that they always go to and Yeonjun felt warm in his belly for getting Beomgyu to smile again. Then, it all went to shit. </p><p>Yeonjun had just told a stupid corny joke that Beomgyu still laughs at. Whether he laughs because he actually finds it funny or is just indulging Yeonjun is up for interpretation, but Yeonjun likes to think it is the former. But he had been laughing, that's what matters. Until he wasn't. </p><p>There had been a large sound of a chair scraping against the floor that made everyone in the shop turn their heads. Yeonjun didn't get a look at the person's face, but the blue hair the guy was sporting took him aback. When he looked over at Beomgyu, however, his friend's face had gone blank. </p><p>Yeonjun immediately worried. Beomgyu didn't even look to be taking a breath. He did, however, see Beomgyu's hand curl into a fist, obviously shaking. When he reached out to touch him Beomgyu jerked away and made a bolt for the exit of the store. </p><p>Thank god, Yeonjun already paid. </p><p>He followed his friend out of the building and was surprised to see Beomgyu already a good six yards away from him. He had to run to catch up with him and his legs did not appreciate the sudden movement. He grabbed onto the lapels of Beomgyu's jacket and pushed back against him so he would stop moving. Beomgyu tried to rip away from him, but Yeonjun just held on tighter. </p><p>"What? What's wrong, Gyu? Please just tell me! What happened?" </p><p>Beomgyu was still putting up a fight against him and Yeonjun kept pushing back. For a moment, he thought he had him. He thought Beomgyu had taken a breath and loosened his grip. But then Yeonjun felt something that was unlike anything he had felt before. At first he just felt a sudden gust of wind breeze past him, but suddenly it returned and practically threw him off of his friend. He fell to the ground clutching his side and saw blood dripping from a cut on his head. </p><p>His vision went blurry and for a second he thought he saw Beomgyu's eyes change colors before immediately fading back to their normal brown. If he thought Beomgyu was shaking before that was nothing compared to now. The boy's heavy breathing coincided with the shaking of his body as he looked down at Yeonjun. His eyes grew big and he wrapped his arms around his body. Yeonjun recognized this as Beomgyu's way of trying to hold himself together and if he let go he would fall apart. </p><p>"H-Hyung...I-I'm so-" It was then that Beomgyu saw the blood dripping from Yeonjun's head. An immense look fear and pain crossed Beomgyu's face and yet again he bolted and Yeonjun couldn't stop him this time. </p><p>"Beomgyu! Wait!" Yeonjun tried to stand up only to topple back over. His head was still spinning and his chest still ached, but he tried again. He stood tall for a second and even made a move to step forward only to collapse again but this time someone caught him. </p><p>It was a girl. </p><p>Her pink hair stood out to Yeonjun as it matched his own and his vision grew even bluurier as the only words he get out were those at the forefront of his mind. </p><p>"Wow, you're really strong." When Yeonjun would look back on this he would cringe and call himself an idiot. </p><p>However, in the present the girl just smirked. </p><p>"Thanks." </p><p>The world goes dark. </p><p>***</p><p>The three devils sat in silence around their living room. Soobin had calmed down and moved to the couch and Kai had cautiously moved next to him. Taehyun had taken the loveseat to the right of them. He felt suddenly uncomfortable around Soobin. The older man had looked distraught when he came tumbling into the apartment and Taehyun was reminded of a time before. When he saw that exact expression on his face. It's a dark sort of humor to know that the reason for both is the same person, but opposite situations. Before, it was because Beomgyu had left. Now, it's because he was back. </p><p>Sometimes, Taehyun wishes Soobin hadn't become so weak. It's a selfish thought, he knows, but Taehyun wishes he could let down his guard around him like he used to. Now, he feels guilty for ever being vulnerable because Soobin has been through much worse. Pain had taken it's toll on his hyung and Soobin had every right to feel it, but Taehyun truly can't help the ugly feeling in his chest that wishes he could be comforted again without feeling like he doesn't deserve to be. </p><p>There's a sudden knock on the door and all three of them are hesitant to answer it. Rarely do people ever come to their apartment, there are not that many that even know the location of it. Kai gets up and approaches the door slowly. He peeks through the peephole and frowns before going to unlock the door. Taehyun and Soobin look at each other, the expression on Kai's face was more confused instead of concerned, but that doesn't lessen the feeling of anxiety as he gets the door open. </p><p>A girl stands in the doorway and it takes a moment but Taehyun recognizes her. It's Ryujin from the club. However, that's not what draws his attention. Instead, it's the limp body hanging on her shoulders. A glance over at his hyung and he realizes that said body is most likely the boy Soobin ran into last night. </p><p>What the actual fuck. </p><p>"Are any of you gonna help me or just stand there like mannequins?" The pink-haired devil snarks. It takes a moment but the three men regain their bearings and help carry the young human onto their couch. Now that he's laying down, Taehyun can see a cut on his head that is still steadily bleeding and quickly grabs some gauze from the bathroom around the corner. </p><p>When he comes back Soobin is questioning Ryujin on how she found Yeonjun and what happened while Kai checks the unconscious boy for more injuries. </p><p>"Well, Yeji wanted me to keep tabs on you." She says to Soobin, "She wanted to make sure you found the guy you were looking for and what business you had with him. She's been a bit paranoid lately. The demons are becoming a lot more reckless around the club and she's worried the angels are gonna question her about it. I was waiting for you at the ice cream shop when you came storming out. You looked pretty upset and I was debating whether or not I should follow you when two other people came out of there. One of them seemed frantic, and your boy over there seemed concerned for the other. They proved to be much more interesting so I followed them instead. When I got there the one guy had taken off and your guy, I think his name is Yeonjun, was laying on the ground. He made a valiant effort to stand up, but it was clear he was too out of it. So, when he passed out I took him here." </p><p>Taehyun wiped the blood around the cut and was quick to wrap gauze around it as he listened to Ryujin. He slightly, with the help of Kai, lifted Yeonjun's head up so he could finishing wrapping the wound and softly put his head back down. He looked at Yeonjun and felt his heart twist in a pang of jealously. This stranger knows Beomgyu. Knows him closely, in fact. Despite himself, he didn't like the idea of another person outside the three devils knowing Beomgyu so well. Being liked by him. Or even, perhaps, being loved by him. The thought turns his stomach. </p><p>"Do you know how Yeonjun ended up hurt?" Kai questioned Ryujin. </p><p>"I'm gonna take a guess and say that it was the guy that was with him. I don't think he hurt him intentionally though." </p><p>Taehyun looked over to Soobin who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange. The older male looked almost completely checked out, his mind seemingly anywhere else but the present. Taehyun bit his lip and thanked Ryujin for bringing Yeonjun here. She nodded with a smile on her face. </p><p>"No problem. I know you guys need him to get the angels off your back, but he seems nice. Then again, he complimented me before passing out so maybe I'm just biased." Ryujin laughed while heading for the door. The two devils not staring into space waved at her as she left, and Taehyun didn't miss the side glance Ryujin took at an unmoving Soobin before the door shut. </p><p>The room faded into silence with only Yeonjun's breathing filling the void now. Taehyun took a moment to take in the current situation. </p><p>He had an unconscious human in his apartment who will most likely be very disturbed when he wakes up in a stranger's house, one of his best friends is currently too far deep into his mind that will take both him and Kai to get him out of, and of course how could he forget that the lost love of his life is somehow involved with said unconscious human. </p><p>Taehyun isn't really sure how he is gonna come out of this one with his sanity still intact. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>anyone wanna make donations for keeping tyun's sanity in tact! he would greatly appreciate it lmao.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>can't decide if i love or hate this chapter lmao. there are also depictions of violence at the end of the chapter so please be wary of that if it makes you uncomfortable! we learn a bit more about yeonjun this chapter and shit really hits the fan which is, y'know, fun! so i hope you guys like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yeonjun doesn't like dreaming. </p><p>More often than not his dreams are filled with the things he pretends don't exist in reality. The constant pressure from his parents, mistakes from his past constantly confronting him, and losing people. Over and over again. </p><p>This dream is different. </p><p>He's somewhere unfamiliar and there isn't much around to identify what it could be. It just feels immeasurably cold here. The wind is blowing but he doesn't know from what direction it's coming. He can't hear anything but his own breath and the darkness around him is daunting. </p><p>He turns in a circle and can feel someone watching him. Movement catches his eyes and he spins, but there is nothing but empty space. He almost wishes someone was there, just so he didn't have to be alone. </p><p>He tries to run away, but the darkness here is endless and it seems to even follow him. He's getting scared now, fear is taking hold of his mind and he just wants to find a way out. There is no way out of a <strike>dream,</strike> no, a nightmare. You just have to hope you wake up. When he screams, there is silence. The silence is more deafening than any noise could ever be. Yeonjun wants to cry. This place is the picture of his greatest fear. He almost wishes someone would appear, even if it was to kill him. </p><p>At least he wouldn't die alone. </p><p>But he <em>was</em> alone. </p><p>And that thought was the most terrifying</p><p>***</p><p>Yeonjun's eyes fly open and he sits up so fast he gets dizzy. His heart is racing a mile a minute and he feels wetness on his face. He can't tell if it's sweat, tears, or a mixture of both. A hand reaches out for him and he jerks back still not aware of his surroundings. His vision isn't focusing and he can't hear that well either. Yeonjun tries to take a breath in and calm down. His hands are on his knees as he tries to get in as much air as he can. After a few more seconds, he dares to focus his vision again and this time he can actually see what's in front of him. A very unfamiliar and oddly patterned table along with a television Yeonjun could never afford. </p><p>"Are you okay?" A voice asks next to him. Yeonjun almost jumps but is able to control himself. The pink-haired boy turns his head to the right and comes face to face with the blue-haired stranger that he couldn't stop thinking about. First, because he was cute. Then, because he was suspicious. </p><p>Yeonjun is so confused. </p><p>Soobin, as Yeonjun recalls, doesn't take offense to his lack of a response. He just grabs a tissue and dabs Yeonjun's face, wiping away the remnants of his nightmare. </p><p>"T-Thanks." Yeonjun mutters. Soobin smiles softly at him and goes to get him water. </p><p>He watches Soobin enter the kitchen and realizes that he has no recollection of how he got here. His head is pounding and all his memories from the past twelve hours seem jumbled together. Has it been twelve hours? How long has he been asleep now that he thinks about it? </p><p>"16 hours." </p><p>Yeonjun looks up and startles. A boy who looks to be a few years younger than Yeonjun himself sits perched on top of the table in front of him. The boy has a kind face, but something about him unsettles Yeonjun. It's as if he's scrutinizing him. </p><p>"You've been asleep for 16 hours. It's around noon now. I'm Kai, nice to meet you." The boy, Kai, holds out his hand. Yeonjun has no idea who this guy is, but he doesn't seem like the type to kill Yeonjun on the spot so he takes his hand and awkwardly shakes it. </p><p>"Nice to meet you too, I think." </p><p>Kai laughs, and Yeonjun still feels uncomfortable. Kai's gaze still seems like he's judging Yeonjun. He's looking for a sign from him, for what Yeonjun has no fucking clue. </p><p>"Huening stop giving him that look, you're scaring him." Soobin says as he places Yeonjun's water on the table. His face is serious but his eyes hold a fondness for the boy in question. </p><p>Yeonjun quietly thanks Soobin for the water and takes a sip for his dry throat. The air around the three men grows awkward. Yeonjun really should be asking what the hell he's doing here, but no words come out of his mouth. His brain is still a bit muddled and he's trying to use what little energy he has to remember what happened. He sees Soobin and Kai talking to each other, but tries to focus on only his memories and where they went. </p><p>There's flashes of giggling chatter, feet on pavement, red eyes fading back to brown, pain, and the look of fear on Beomgyu's face. </p><p>Beomgyu. </p><p>Yeonjun drops his water glass. </p><p>The sound of glass shattering startles Soobin and Kai who look to Yeonjun with confusion, but he's not focused on them. </p><p>No, he's focused on Beomgyu. Worried about Beomgyu. He ran off and Yeonjun couldn't catch him. Where is he now? Is he alone? Is he safe? </p><p>A hand, Soobin's again, reaches out but this time Yeonjun latches on and looks at Soobin was a sudden look of desperation. </p><p>"Beomgyu? Where's Beomgyu? Do you know? Did you find him?" </p><p>Soobin, whose face had seemed so open a few seconds ago, closes down so quickly Yeonjun would've blinked and missed the moment. Kai stands to the side and his previous curious expression goes cold and he looks at Yeonjun with a storm in his eyes.  </p><p>Yeonjun suddenly grows weary of the two in front of him and releases his hold on Soobin's hand. </p><p>"How do you know him?" </p><p>A new voice speaks and when Yeonjun turns around he comes face to face with another man with bright blonde hair and is a bit shorter than him. Somehow, though, he's more intimidating than Kai and Soobin combined. </p><p>"He's my friend." Yeonjun can at least say this with confidence. </p><p>A shadow crosses the blonde's face and he lets out a humorless chuckle. </p><p>"Really? How is that working out for you?" </p><p>The words are said with malice and Yeonjun grows defensive. </p><p>"What's that supposed to mean?" </p><p>The blonde cocks his head a gives Yeonjun a look that almost seems like pity and a fire starts to stir in Yeonjun's stomach. </p><p>"I mean that you were found bleeding and barely conscious and the last person you were with was him. In fact, the girl who found you saw him run off and leave you behind. Doesn't really seem like the type of thing a friend would do." </p><p>Somewhere in the back on his head Yeonjun is connecting a few threads together, but that's not what is at the forefront. No, the thing that stands center stage in his brain right now is the absolute audacity this random man has to judge a friendship he has never taken part in. </p><p>So, Yeonjun decides to play blondie's little game too. He tsks and chuckles automatically gaining the other's attention. </p><p>"Ah. So, you're one of those people." </p><p>The blond furrows his eyebrows. </p><p>"Y'know, the ones who think they know everything. Does it make you feel better about yourself? Thinking there's not a thing you can't figure out? Well, guess what? You know absolutely nothing and you will keep knowing absolutely nothing until you get off your high horse and face reality. The world doesn't revolve around you and whatever conclusions your brain comes up with. Yes, Beomgyu is my friend, and sure it looks bad that he left me there but you don't know him like I do. You didn't see what I saw and neither did that girl. Didn't your parents ever teach you not to judge something when you've barely scratched the surface?" </p><p>Yeonjun was anxious a few moments ago, maybe scared even, but he won't let someone shit-talk his friend. If there's one thing his parents taught him, it was how to win an argument and never ever lose. </p><p>Something strikes a chord in the blond, because for a moment the man hesitates. It is over as quick as it came, however, and the fury is once again ignited with the flame in his eyes burning brighter than before. </p><p>He opens his mouth to speak, but Soobin's voice cuts him off. </p><p>"Taehyun, stop!" </p><p>Yeonjun turns around, surprised to see Soobin interjecting when he was checked out seconds ago. His face is drawn and his eyes are tired but clear. When Yeonjun looks back at Taehyun, he too seems to have come back to himself. His eyes now hold guilt in them, not towards Yeonjun, but to Soobin. </p><p>"It's like what Kai told us, we can't let the Beomgyu situation control our emotions. Yeonjun was just answering your question, your response was uncalled for." </p><p>It takes a moment for Soobin's statement to register in Yeonjun's brain, too busy staring at Taehyun as he went from certified jackass to a child getting scolded. When it does though, Yeonjun has to step back. </p><p>"You all know him? Are you the friends he talks about? The ones he left?" Wow, Yeonjun really could've had a lot more tact with that last question. </p><p>All three boys standing around him flinch and this time Yeonjun actually feels bad. </p><p>"Does he...talk about us?" Taehyun murmurs. </p><p>Yeonjun thinks back to the nights where he had to hold Beomgyu while he cried and apologized profusely to the three ghosts that he saw in his dreams. He thinks back to the times they would walk by random strangers and Beomgyu would see something in them that reminded him of someone else and would have to stop for a moment. He thinks back to just a few days ago when they were having a conversation about the exact people he stood in front of now. </p><p>He doesn't say any of this though. Those things are not for him to tell. </p><p>"Not in specifics, but he'll mention you all sometimes. He said he ran into two of you a few nights ago though." </p><p>By the way Kai and Taehyun immediately take a glance at each other Yeonjun doesn't have to wonder who it was. </p><p>Awkwardness takes over again and now Yeonjun doesn't know what to do. It was easier to argue with Taehyun a moment ago when he thought he was just a judgmental asshole, but now there might actually be substance to his words. It also explains Kai's intense gaze after he mentioned Beomgyu's name and the suspicious one before it. Soobin, however, had still been kind. </p><p>Taehyun clears his throat and catches Yeonjun's attention. </p><p>"Sorry, uh, I didn't give you the best first impression of myself." Taehyun stammers. The fire is gone in his eyes and only sadness remains. </p><p>"I was pretty harsh in response, I guess. So sorry too." Yeonjun replies, biting his lip. God this may be the most uncomfortable he's felt in a while. </p><p>“Are you feeling okay, Yeonjun? Ryujin said you hit the ground pretty hard and there was a cut on your forehead too.” Soobin said, partly breaking the ice. <br/>
<br/>
Yeonjun fiddled around with his fingers and indeed found a bandage he hadn’t noticed wrapped around his head. He remembered feeling dizzy earlier, but the feeling has faded away by now. </p><p>“I feel fine. Thanks for patching me up though.” </p><p>“You did it for me.” Soobin gave him a slight smile. </p><p>“Oh, yeah! How is your arm by the way?” Yeonjun asked immediately searching for the cut on his arm but finding nothing. <br/>
<br/>
Soobin went red and hid his arm from view. </p><p>“It healed up really quick. I guess it wasn’t as deep as we thought.” A forced laugh came out of the tall man’s mouth. </p><p>That was strange, but then again this whole situation was strange so Yeonjun let it slide. </p><p>"So, uh, why exactly did I wind up here by the way?" </p><p>"Ryujin remembered you from the club. She and her friends own it. She had seen you with Soobin that night so she brought you here. We're pretty close with them." Kai explained. </p><p>"She took me to her friend's house instead of a hospital?" </p><p>To this Kai had nothing to say. </p><p>“She doesn’t like hospitals.” Soobin offered. </p><p>“Okay, but she wasn’t the one bleeding from the head now was she?” </p><p>“I did a pretty good patch up job you know.” Taehyun snarked while Yeonjun scoffed. </p><p>He wasn’t getting anywhere with these people. He didn’t really think Ryujin, whose pink hair he now remembers, brought him here because she thought he was better off. No, she brought him here for something else. </p><p>Yeonjun kept switching between being annoyed and suspicious of the men around him. He didn't feel like he was in imminent danger, but the three of them clearly had ulterior motives bringing him here.</p><p>"Well, then I'm gonna go now. Thanks for helping me, I guess." Yeonjun made a move to leave and both Taehyun and Soobin practically yelled at him to stop. It almost made him laugh. He wasn't actually planning on leaving, there were too many unknown variables for him to feel comfortable going back out on his own, but he could tell that whatever the boys wanted from him they needed it now. </p><p>"I know this whole thing is really weird and you probably have a lot of questions and concerns running through your mind right now, but I, no, we need you to not tell anyone about this. From when we met to this moment right now." Soobin looked dead serious as he spoke and it only made Yeonjun wonder even more about the incident that happened at Blue Hour. </p><p>"It would probably be better for Beomgyu too if you didn't say anything to anyone else." Kai spoke up.</p><p>"What does Beomgyu have to do with anything the three of you have going on? Hasn't it been a long time since any of you associated with him." </p><p>"More like him not associating with us, but yes it has been a long time, but just because time passes doesn't mean the past goes away." Taehyun says. </p><p>"So, this has something to do with the past that you all share?" </p><p>"It won't if you don't say anything. Actually, Beomgyu won't be involved at all if you keep your mouth closed." The blonde remarks. </p><p>This is the moment where Yeonjun has to question if he should trust these people. He knows they were friends with Beomgyu once upon a time, but that's just the thing. <em>Were. </em>There's a decently good chance that these boys are out to get revenge and although Yeonjun hopes that isn't the case their secrecy is alarming. </p><p>"Why should I believe you?" Yeonjun speaks softly. He's not trying to be on the defensive anymore, but there really is no reason why he should take them at their word. </p><p>The three men are silent for a few moments probably contemplating the question themselves. Then, both Kai and Taehyun move to speak but Soobin beats them to it. </p><p>"Because Beomgyu was our friend once too. We knew him, just like you do now. We thought we knew everything about him actually, but we were wrong as it turns out, but we know him enough to make this conclusion. If there's any aspect of our friendship with Beomgyu that still remains it's that I still believe in his judge of character. There's been several times, too many to count, where his judgement of a person rang true. Despite the past, despite the pain he put us through, we aren't going to steer someone he considers his friend in a direction that's bad. He clearly trusts you enough to tell you things about himself that he wouldn't to just some random person. With Beomgyu, that's a hard thing to get. So, we're trusting you. Can you put trust in us as little as it may be?" </p><p>Taehyun and Kai look at Soobin with a kind of emotion that churns Yeonjun's stomach. It's like a mixture of sadness, confusion, and longing all mixed together and Yeonjun knows he shouldn't trust them. But he's felt that emotion before. The kind of feeling when you miss something you feel as though you shouldn't. Yeonjun knows that all too well. So, when he opens his mouth his heart speaks before his brain can catch up. </p><p>"Fine. I'll trust you."</p><p>The three boys in front of him sigh in relief. </p><p>"But I swear to god if this comes back to bite mein the ass I will not hesitate to come back and all of your asses in return, got it?" Yeonjun points at the three of them as he speaks. "Now where's my damn phone?" </p><p>Kai quickly pops up beside him with phone in hand. </p><p>"It was almost dead so I put it on the charger." </p><p>"Thanks." Yeonjun quickly takes the phone from Kai's grasp and puts it into his pocket. </p><p>Taehyun also makes his way to Yeonjun's side and hands him some kind of ointment. </p><p>"Put that on your cut. It'll help it not get infected." </p><p>Yeonjun takes this a bit more hesitantly. </p><p>He approaches the door and looks back at the three boys who stare at him. He doesn't feel as much hostility this time at least. </p><p>"Thank you." Soobin says as Yeonjun walks out the door with a slight smile. Yeonjun just nods back. </p><p>As he heads down the stairways there is only one thing he can think about. </p><p>Those stupid dimples. </p><p>***</p><p>As the door shuts behind Yeonjun the weight on Soobin’s shoulders lessens. But, only by a fraction. <br/>
<br/>
There is still so much to worry about. </p><p>Soobin turns around and tries his best to ignore the looks Taehyun and Kai are giving him. He was too honest when he spoke to Yeonjun earlier. He revealed too much of himself and to an extent the two boys beside him. He really has grown more soft-hearted and by god does Soobin hate that. It would be so much easier if he felt nothing. </p><p>“Hyung, what the hell was that?” <br/>
<br/>
It’s Taehyun speaking, his sharp tone back in play. Soobin deserves it. Telling even a minuscule version of a devil’s truth is shameful. Especially when it comes to fucked up things like feelings. </p><p>“I couldn’t think of anything else in the moment.” </p><p>“So? Leave it for me and Kai to handle.” </p><p>That’s just the thing. He doesn’t want his younger brothers to handle it. He doesn’t want to give them more burden then he has already let them take on. It’s embarrassing that Soobin has had to be roped back into the present twice by the two of them in one day because he can’t let go of the past and all the scars it left behind. </p><p>“What would you have proposed to do then?” </p><p>“Maybe something more permanent. Maybe something that doesn’t revolve around something so flimsy as the bullshit word of trust.” <br/>
<br/>
“Would you have wanted to kill him, Tyun?” Kai butts in and Taehyun waves his hand. </p><p>“I don’t know, maybe?”</p><p>”We’re not supposed to kill them, Taehyun.” Kai said softly, knowing he was potentially prodding at a sleeping bear. </p><p>“Yeah, well, we’re not supposed to save them either! If the humans get themselves into shit then it’s up to them to get themselves out of it too.” </p><p>“Taehyun, it wasn’t Yeonjun’s fault for getting into this mess.” Soobin starts, but Taehyun keeps going. </p><p>“Why does that suddenly matter to you? It never mattered before!” </p><p>“Hyung!” Kai shouts, his voice breaking. </p><p>There is quiet for a moment. Soobin looks at Taehyun and Taehyun looks at Soobin. </p><p>The moment passes and Taehyun scoffs. </p><p>“Are you kidding me? Is this really about what you said? That you don’t want to hurt him because of Beomgyu?! Are you scared that Beomgyu will get his poor little feelings hurt?” </p><p>“Taehyun—”</p><p>“After everything you honestly still care about him?” </p><p>“That’s not—”</p><p>”Well, he doesn’t care about you. Or us. He doesn’t miss you hyung, can’t you see that? If he cared he would’ve followed you out of that ice cream place. If he cared he would’ve sought me and Kai out at the club after our confrontation. If he—“ </p><p>“TAEHYUN!” </p><p>“IF HE CARED, HE SHOULD’VE COME BACK!” </p><p>Taehyun’s crying now. The fight dried out of him. Soobin desperately wants to reach out, but with Taehyun that never goes well. There was only one person who he would latch onto during times like this. </p><p>Soobin has never wanted Beomgyu both here and gone more than at this moment. </p><p>If Beomgyu was gone from their lives permanently maybe they could move on. </p><p><strike>Liar</strike> </p><p>But if Beomgyu was here maybe Taehyun wouldn’t be falling apart at all. <br/>
<br/>
</p><p>***<br/>
<br/>
The phone is ringing but there’s no answer. </p><p>This doesn’t surprise Yeonjun, but when he goes to Beomgyu’s apartment and no one answers the door he starts to be a little concerned. </p><p>When he takes the key Beomgyu had given him a while ago and opens the door to find no one inside the concern turns to worry. </p><p>He tries not to panic, but that’s easier said then done. </p><p>He calls several mutual friends and they have no inkling to where he could be either. Not that Yeonjun thought they would, but Beomgyu surprises him sometimes. </p><p>Night is taking over the sunset again and there is a deep feeling in Yeonjun’s gut that he can’t shake. </p><p>There is one person that Yeonjun hasn’t contacted, but a part of him is scared to. </p><p>Beomgyu told him he only contacts this person in dire circumstances. </p><p>He dials the number anyway.</p><p>It rings in concession with Yeonjun’s heartbeat and at the very last moment someone picks up. </p><p>“Heeseung, it’s Choi Yeonjun.”</p><p>Lee Heeseung was the person with Beomgyu the night he and Yeonjun first met. He was an old friend of Beomgyu who he doesn’t see very often. They aren’t close anymore, but in times of desperation they reach out to each other. </p><p><br/>
Beomgyu told Yeonjun the two of them are in similar situations. It’s not exactly the same, but they are the only two who would understand the feelings of the other. </p><p>The situation in question was never disclosed though. </p><p>Maybe, Yeonjun thinks, he let Beomgyu keep too many secrets. </p><p>“Yeonjun? Why are you calling me?” </p><p>The feeling in his gut deepened. </p><p>“I don’t know where Beomgyu is.” </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>”I mean I called him and he didn’t answer. I went to his apartment and there was no one there. I called friends and he hasn’t spoken to them either. It’s been almost two days.” Yeonjun said, his breath hitching.</p><p>”I-I don’t know where he is either.” </p><p>“Please tell me you know where he could go then?”</p><p>”There’s nowhere he could go, at least not here.” </p><p>“What are you talking about? Did he go to a different country or some shit?” </p><p>“No. He definitely didn’t do that.” </p><p>“Well, then what do you mean?” </p><p>There is silence and Yeonjun can tell Heeseung is hesitating. </p><p>“Yeonjun, if he went where I’m thinking of you won’t be able to find him.” </p><p>“Stop giving me meaningless answers and tell me where he could’ve gone! I don’t care if you think I can’t find him I will!” </p><p>“Yeonjun, I-I don’t think he wants you to find him. If he went there, that means that he doesn’t want you to come back to him.”</p><p>”What? Are you saying that he just...left me? He wouldn’t do that!” </p><p>“You know he’s done it before.” </p><p>“Shut up! You don’t know anything!”</p><p>”Yeonjun, I’m sorry, but you know that isn’t true. Beomgyu never stays with people for that long. I’m surprised he stayed with you for the amount of time he did. You really must mean a lot to him. There are only a few other people he’s felt that way about.”</p><p>Yeonjun feels like crying. He not even sure he actually isn’t already. </p><p>“I-I just don’t want him to be hurt.”</p><p>”I can’t guarantee he isn’t.”</p><p>”Fuck you Heeseung, you’re not even telling me anything. I don’t care if he doesn’t want me to, I’ll go find him anyway. Maybe no one has ever bothered to try.”</p><p>”Yeonjun, please don’t, it’s too dangerous for you. Beomgyu would never forgive himself if something happened to you. Trust me, please.” </p><p>Yeonjun wasn’t listening to Heeseung anymore. Cold had taken over his body. </p><p>“Sorry, I already gave my free trust card away today.” </p><p>Yeonjun hangs up the phone. </p><p>***</p><p>The day has fallen to darkness and there are few cars left on the street as Yeonjun walks down the sidewalk. He had wanted to go to that diner that he had met Beomgyu at, drown his sorrows in chocolate milkshakes, but like a sick joke it was closed for renovation. At that moment, he just wanted to curl up and cry. </p><p>He was so exhausted even though he had slept for sixteen hours the day prior. He steps in a wet puddle that soaks his socks which normally he hates, but now can't find it within himself to care. </p><p>Had he been wrong to have so much faith in Beomgyu? </p><p>He know he didn't know close to anything about Beomgyu in the past, but he thought he knew him best in the present. That's all that mattered to him. He wishes everyone from Beomgyu's past would stop being so mysterious. Stop being evasive when Yeonjun is just looking for answers. Maybe Yeonjun wouldn't feel such a heavy weight on his chest if he were able to understand more. Maybe he didn't understand anything at all. </p><p>He feels the tears gathering in his eyes again and pushes them back. </p><p>He wonders if he looks pathetic. To be this upset over a friend leaving. As if that doesn't happen all the time. But Yeonjun really thought that for once he finally found someone who would stay. How foolish could one person be? </p><p>Despite the thoughts running in his head, Yeonjun is still determined to find Beomgyu, at least to get closure. </p><p>But right now he can mourn yet another person he lost. </p><p>Then, like in all the horror movies he has forced Beomgyu to watch with him, he hears something. </p><p>It sounds like a creak and Yeonjun sighs. This is really not what he needs right now. He tries to ignore it. Pretends like he didn't hear it, but the sound come again. Louder this time and sounding less like a creak and more like a growl. </p><p>Yeonjun tries not to show fear as every predator thrives off of it and continues on his path. Then, someone steps in his way. </p><p>His defenses are up and he's about to throw a punch when he recognizes the person. It's the girl from the club. The one who lost her boyfriend. Yeonjun scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, about to ask her if she's okay. It's the only thing he can think to say, when she lunges. </p><p>Quickly, her, no it's, form changes from that of a human girl to a terrifying monster that Yeonjun has only ever saw in movies made from CGI. It has eyes that glow black, horns that spring from the crown of the head, and rows of teeth that match the sharpness of a shark. It's appearance is like that of a gargoyle. Just bigger and scarier and Yeonjun jumps away. He barely misses the clawed hand that had reached out. He scrambles to run, but the thing is fast. Why are things like this always fast? Can't they be slow like a snail?</p><p>The thing reaches out again and snatches Yeonjun's hoodie and he curses himself for choosing to wear one. He tries to take the thing's (hand?) off of him and when he touches it it feels rough and dead like as if it was just attached back on. He still tries to yank his shirt out from the thing's grip but it chooses instead to throw him against the wall. Of course, these things are super fucking strong too. It's always the humans that are the weak link. Still, Yeonjun gets up. </p><p>He can't beat this thing that's just ridiculous but he still has hope he can get away. But that thought is thrown away as quickly as it came when the thing grabs his leg and pulls. It drags him across the pavement and he can feel a layer of skin on his back rip off. He bites his tongue in pain. If this thing is going to kill him, he won't let it know it hurt him. If it can even make real thoughts. </p><p>The thing proceeds to grab him by his hair and pull him up. Strangely, it doesn't smell like anything. Yeonjun assumed it would smell rancid. The movies didn't get everything right then. </p><p>The thing digs it's absurdly long nails into Yeonjun's skin, but he still doesn't make a sound even though he's screaming on the inside. The thing wants him to suffer, but Yeonjun won't let that show through. </p><p>Then, it drops him to the ground and lets out what Yeonjun would guess would be the thing's version of a scream. </p><p>Out from the shadows stands a man with red glowing eyes and for a minute Yeonjun thinks it's someone coming to finish him off, but then Yeonjun recognizes those eyes. They were the same color Beomgyu's had briefly turned to but yet it's not him. No, he recognizes the eyes from somewhere else. </p><p>"I really should've just dealt with you back at the club." A voice speaks and Yeonjun's breath halts. </p><p>It's Soobin. Holding a bow and arrow? </p><p>Yeonjun looks up at him as Soobin looks down and a unidentifiable emotion shines in his eyes before he shoots not even sparing a glance at whatever that thing is. No, he only looks at Yeonjun. Yeonjun, who after holding them back for so long, finally allows his tears to fall. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>:0</p>
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